2014 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest US winners announced

2014 US Winners of the annual Toyota Dream Car Art Contest have been announced. 9 U.S. Winners receive an iPad Mini and an award certificate, and their artwork goes forth to represent the World Contest Semi-Finalists to compete with entrants from over 70 countries.

In August 2014, 30 young artists will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Toyota City, Japan and participate in the World Contest awards ceremony. They will be invited to a tour of a Toyota manufacturing plant. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is an annual event and from October 1 through December 14, 2013, youth across the U.S. were invited to create and submit a drawing of their “Dream Car” idea.

A national panel of judges reviewed artwork by 31 US finalists. Judging is based on execution of concept, uniqueness, and artistry. Judges for the event were:

“If you take a look at the artwork these kids created, you see that not only have they designed a dream car, many have incorporated their dream car into an ideal future environment and society,” said actor and art collector, Cheech Marin. “These are more than aspirational, they are inspirational. These are true pieces of art.”

“As a first-time judge, I was blown away by the quality of the artwork in each age group,” said Motor Trend’s Edward Loh. “Not only was there significant artistic prowess on display, but there were deeply moving humanitarian messages in many of the pieces. Who says kids these days don’t care about cars or the planet? Kudos to Toyota for supporting such an inspiring program!”

“It is amazing to see the talent and creativity of the young artists in the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest,” said Craig Kember, Senior Creative Designer at Calty Design Research. “I am blown away by their ability to combine large social issues with artistic and beautiful vehicle creations to come up with new and unique solutions for the future of cars. The future of car design is bright.”